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Happy Birthday to Myself: SCG ATL Top8 with TES

Hey guys! My birthday was yesterday (April 7), and what better way to celebrate than to play some legacy? I felt going into the StarCity Open that it was about damn time I did well at a big tournament, so I was just going to give myself a nice little birthday present. Here's my story of the event.

First, a brief snapshot of the events leading up to the event. After introducing the world (besides those of us who slum around in New & Dev ) to TinFins at the previous SCG ATL, it was a foregone conclusion that I would run it back after all the success it's had, right? The problem was that my store had quickly adapted to TinFins after I'd been playing it for a couple of weeks, and I just couldn't beat people who decided they didn't want to lose to combo, including graveyard combo. After seeing Storm win back to back opens, it was pretty clear that there was going to be too much storm hate to play through in addition to the omnipresent graveyard hate.

That left me with two choices: BUG Delver or TES. nedleeds said he might be using his 'Goyfs (after all, why would an upright and gentlemanly combo player like myself own Goyfs?), so I just gave in and decided to play the more fun deck. I mean, I didn't buy Korean signed Lotus Petals and K fbb Dark Rituals so they could sit in a box.

My deck got its warm-up when dredger extraordinaire David Thomas asked if he could borrow TES for the Legacy challenge while I was judging the Invitational. He casually 4-0'd it cold. Added value, I got a chance to meet and discuss the deck with Bryant Cook as we birded his horse in the event. He convinced me to play Ill-Gotten Gains over the Hull Breach I'd been playing with a pretty simple statement: "I've won more games due to IGG than I've lost from not having Hull Breach." It wouldn't really prove to be relevant in either case though.

On to the tournament itself! I dressed with my birthday swag necklace and prepared my body with caffeine. I took pretty decent notes to give this tournament report some flesh. I'm more interested in talking about the different lines of play, especially when I took a worse/incorrect one, than talking about the mechanics of the combo, so this report will focus a lot on the mistakes I made. Shoutouts to Bryant for watching my first few rounds and pointing out different lines of play - very helpful to growing as a player. It was slightly intimidating at first to having him standing behind me, though. I also continued a thing I started at GP Denver - I asked my opponents after the match to sign and/or doodle on a Goblin token, a fun memento that I learned from Mary Jacobson. Shoutouts to all my opponents for being good sports and signing tokens. I didn't actually write down boarding, so I'll list boarding as accurately as I remember.

Round 1 - James Walker - Elfball
Nice guy and long-time player that had taken a break around Odyssey and just picked up Elfball for this tournament. This matchup is very positive for TES - we're 1-2 turns faster and more disruptive.G1: He won the die roll and my Probe saw a pretty awkward opener after he dropped a Nettle Sentinel featuring double Craterhoof Behemoth and Natural Order along with Crop Rotation and an elf. He conceded t2 after Wish into Past in Flames into 24 Goblins from the Empty I naturally drew. After the match, Bryant berates me that I missed a t1 IGG loop bringing back RoF, RoF, and Empty for 20 goblins.
boarding: -1 Empty, -1 Infernal Tutor, -4 Silence, -1 Duress, +3 Abrupt Decay, +2 Chain of Vapor, +1 Cabal Therapy, +1 ThoughtseizeG2: My Probe revealed another hand with Hoof after he dropped a t1 Deathrite Shaman, but this time he had double Green Sun Zenith and Cradle. I decided to Ponder instead of just stripping a GSZ with Duress. He ripped Heritage Druid, GSZ for 1 to find Nettle Sentinel, played Cradle, then GSZ for 2 to find Teeg. Uh oh. After cantripping, I had an untapped land and Rite of Flame + LED + Burning Wish for Grapeshot to nuke his team, but I thought I had another turn. Instead, he played the on-board kill with the Hoof I knew about. Oops.G3: This was an interesting game. I kept a 4 cantrip hand with Chrome Mox. Between Brainstorm and Ponder, I managed to find an Ad Nauseam kill by my turn 3. I sequenced land -> Ponder, then Brainstorm (bricking on lands) -> Chrome Mox (imprinting second Brainstorm) -> Ponder (shuffle). Instead, Bryant pointed out I should have Brainstormed differently to leave Gitaxian Probe in hand so I could imprint that on Chrome Mox and leave another Brainstorm in my deck so I'm more likely to draw it. Either way, I won pretty easily.
1-0 (2-1)

Round 2 - Jordan (lastname Pete?) - Merfolk (with Standstill, no Stifle)
Jordan seemed like a pretty competitive fellow, but he admitted he hadn't played the deck or legacy before this tournament. This match was by far the tightest and most interesting in the swiss, and I feel like I got slightly lucky and fortunate that my opponent didn't have a lot of experience against storm.G1: I win the die roll and see he had a lot of nothing in hand, but did drop a t2 Standstill before I can go off. I thought I was ready to go off through it with him tapped out on my turn 3. I had RoF, DR, LP, BS, Empty, Silence in hand with 3 lands in play. I played Silence, he Cursecatcher'd it. Foolishly, I responded by casting Dark Ritual. He tanked for a minute, then Forced DR. Afterwards I realize I should have simply paid for Cursecatcher with one of the 2 lands in play because I still won't be cut off a color thanks to the Lotus Petal in my hand. I erroneously thought I had to Brainstorm to up storm count, but I should have realized if he had Force in hand, he has a chance to prevent me from casting Empty, so I should just pay and ignore the Brainstorm and get +1 storm for free if he Forces Silence. That left me a bit depleted, but left him with nothing in play or in hand, so I Emptied for 8 a turn later. He assembled lots of merfolk to block. I cantripped into a Burning Wish with RoF in hand to Grapeshot his Phantasmal Image copying a lord and his face, putting him to 4, but leaving me with nothing. I ripped an Infernal Tutor, but punted by not tutoring for Burning Wish (with the hope to draw some fast mana and Wish into Tendrils) while hellbent. Instead, he assembled lethal Islandwalkers and when I found a Dark Rit I was 1 mana short of IT -> BW -> Tendrils. Super interesting, tight g1.
boarding: -1 IT, -1 Silence, +2 Xantid Swarm (I think it was a mistake to board this way, see g3)G2: I made t2 14 goblins and killed him before he could find an answer.
boarding: I realized I just want all the Silence effects. -1 Cabal Therapy, +1 SilenceG3: I had a naturally-drawn Ad Nauseam in hand and the "combo" of Brainstorm, LED, and Gitaxian Probe. I Brainstormed to set up a pass-the-turn GP into Ad Naus after I Duressed him, but stacked in the wrong order. After getting visibly frustrated, I made an effort to "untilt" and allowed him to Hymn himself by Silencing after he was tapped out for Silvergill to my 2 land. He Dazed (paid), then Forced, pitching Hydroblast. I'm confident this was a mistake - he had random shitty dudes in his hand that he could have pitched instead. This allowed me to set up a PiF into Tendrils for 20 on the next turn.
2-0 (4-2)

Round 3 - K. J. (from Orlando) - UWr Miracles
Between games I did some casual intimidation by mentioning that I've played the matchup a ton against my roommate, *ahem* t8 competitor alphastryk, oh and how is the legacy scene in Orlando? He admitted he didn't get much of a chance to play. I just can't pass up a chance to psych out an opponent, especially when I'm playing one of the scariest decks in the format.G1: He kept a hand with Force and some other irrelevants like Jace and Rest in Peace, so I went for the t3 kill after he tapped out for RiP. He Forced my Silence, giving me enough storm to IT -> BW -> Tendrils. ez-pz.
boarding: I didn't put my opponent on hatebears, so no CoVs. -1 IT, -1 Chrome Mox, -1 Empty the Warrens, +3 Abrupt DecayG2: On my t2 I saw that there wouldn't really be a better chance to go for it, but the only line I could come up with was 10 goblins. 2 swings later he was dead and showing me the 4 Terminus he boarded out. Perhaps not the best boarding on his part
3-0 (6-2)

Round 4 - Joseph Neuman - Sneak & Show
He told me before the first game that this was his first time playing legacy. Seriously guys, it's not a good idea to hemorrhage information. When he led Volcanic -> Ponder, I guessed Sneak&Show and he confirmed it.G1: He had a pretty stacked hand of countermagic with Force, Pierce, Brainstorm, and some lands, but I stripped his protection and his double Brainstorm (with a shuffle) wasn't able to find more to stop my Empty for 14. Bizarrely, he asked me during the match to see my notes (where I'd been writing down what I knew of his hand), and obviously I replied "No..." Another judge explained that with the change to life totals being public, notes written in-match are public information. Huh.
boarding: -1 some protection, -1 Infernal Tutor, -1 Empty, -1 Gitaxian Probe, +2 Xantid Swarm, +2 Chain of Vapor (for Leyline of Sanctity)G2: He got a t2 Sneak Attack thanks to a Brainstorm into a pile of Lotus Petals, but couldn't put a man in play. With 2 cards in his hand, I was prepared to go off...but Probe showed double Force! So after tanking, I Chain of Vapor his Sneak Attack, he had to Force. With only 1 IMS left, my Dark Ritual was turned off, but I had a couple of Rite of Flames, LED, and Burning Wish to make 16 goblins. He snuck in the Emrakul he hid, I sac'd 6 goblins and went to 2. Swing for 10. I told him to slam the top card, and it's a Brainstorm. He hit a Griselbrand and I scooped. Ugh, so close.G3: I Probe and set up, seeing a hand with S&T and Echoing Truth. I cast Duress and he called a judge over, asked a question, Brainstormed, then smugly asked what I'm naming. I simply replied, "Resolve Duress?" Goodbye Show and Tell! At this point I was pretty annoyed at his attitude so I went for Ad Nauseam, Wished for Past in Flames with storm at >10, then flashed back a bunch of stuff and Grapeshot him for 25 or so right as time was called. His reaction: "I was expecting that black 4-cost spell." Pick up my sideboard, "Oh, you mean this one?"
4-0 (8-3)

Round 5 - Justin Uppal - Esper stoneblade
Nice guy, but made some major mistakes in all the matches I watched him play - surprising considering he's a "name".G1: He landed a Stoneforge (finding Batterskull) and had some other gas in hand while my hand was garbage. I stripped his Pierce and just rolled the dice with Diminishing Returns (nothing floating). Another Probe saw an ok hand with Batterskull, and my hand was good but I needed to untap. He Brainstormed, Preordained, and Inquisitioned taking my only tutor, Burning Wish, but fortunately didn't leave up Stoneforge. I Pondered into gas and hid a Burning Wish. He passed back, Cliqued me, and made the tight play of taking Ponder instead of my only tutor, the Burning Wish I drew. Casually killed him.
boarding: -1 Empty, -1 Infernal Tutor, -1 Silence, +1 Thoughtseize, +2 Abrupt Decay (for hatebears or Counterbalance)G2: He kept a very poor hand with lands, Cabal Therapy, Snapcaster and wasn't able to find any action or hit off Therapy before I killed him with Ad Nauseam on turn 2.
5-0 (10-3)

Round 6 - Caleb Crotts - Dredge
Nice opponent, we had a lot of fun, but there were some frustrating draws on both sides.G1: I kept an ok hand with Duress, lands, Petal, and double Tutor. Duress took his Breakthrough, leaving him with no lands but dredgers, Street Wraith, and a Putrid Imp. Drew a couple of land, so Tutored for Petal to try to get hellbent, but quickly passed and forgot to play them. He ripped the land, dredged into Therapy and left me with not much. I peeled Burning Wish and Dark Rit, enough to Diminishing Returns with lethal on board, but without any floating mana, I couldn't do anything.
boarding: +2 Chain of Vapor, +1 Thoughtseize, -2 Silence, -1 DuressG2: I killed him very quickly when he didn't dredge into disruption.G3: My t1 Ponder saw 3 goodies - the second land, the tutor (BW), and Petal - to go along with my hand of double Dark Rit, double Infernal Tutor, and something uncastable. He whiffed on Therapy, and I went for Wish -> Empty...but forgot I didn't have a way to make RR. So I just Tendril'd him for 16 and hoped to rip. He got there first.
5-1 (11-5)

Round 7 - Elliott Wolchesky - (traditional) Reanimator
My opponent was a very quiet, sullen looking guy. Not the most fun match when all his answers to my banter are monosyllabic.G1: He led on Delta, pass, so I put him on Thresh or combo. My fetch didn't get Stifled, so Brainstormed to set up the t2 Ad Naus. He Brainstormed EOT, drew, and passed. I Silenced, he Forced, then Ad Naus killed him, after revealing a hand of reanimation spells.
boarding: -1 Empty, -1 Infernal Tutor, +2 Xantid SwarmG2: He led on Careful Study and I carefully studied his face for reads. His grimace told me that he probably had a turn 2 reanimation with no protection when he dumped Griselbrand. So I went for t1 Ad Naus and was rewarded.
6-1 (13-5)

Round 8 - Chris Cornwell-Shiel - Prosack-ANT
Feature match! Oh wait, we need you to switch to the seat not on camera... Yeah Goblins v Stoneblade will finish before us, definitely. Chris admitted that he hadn't played ANT before, but props for doing well with it so far.G1: He Preordained, then Probe revealed a hand with lots of mana and a Therapy, but no tutor. I Pondered and shuffled. He Therapied and whiffed, I cantripped some more, his cantrips whiffed on discard, then I killed him with Ad Naus.
boarding: -1 Empty the Warrens, +1 Cabal Therapy. I know he has Dark Confidant, but the plan is to kill him before Bob takes over.G2: He managed to Lotus Petal -> Brainstorm -> lots of mana and storm -> Tutor for Tendrils on his turn 1. My mull to 6 was fine with 2x Therapy and Probe, but not thrilling.G3: I had the option of going for an Empty for 14 or so or passing and hoping he had no discard. He didn't and my t2 Ad Naus got there.
7-1 (15-6)

Round 9
I drew with one of the Jund players. I hadn't really done complicated standings math before, so took his word that the math worked out ok for both of us. Adam Cai then told me that I had 90% just drawn myself out of top8, so I was pretty anxious. Instead of worrying, I just decided to break out my cube and get a draft in. Right as I was about to start my first game, they announced top8, and I was 5th seed! I'm not sure if Adam was right or if I just go lucky.

Quarters - Jeff Hoogland - 4c Loam
Nice guy, we share some interests. I was pretty worried about this matchup though. He has a ton of hate and I've never had good success against Thalia or Chalice-Loam decks, much less the combination of the two.
Text coverage can be found here: http://www.starcitygames.com/events/...ogland_vs.html
Game 1 went about as Reuben said.
boarding: -4 Silence, -1 Infernal Tutor, -1 Empty the Warrens, +3 Abrupt Decay, +2 Chain of Vapor, +1 ThoughtseizeG2: I mulled to 6 and kept a no-lander with Abrupt Decay, a Petal, and Probe and Ponder on the hope either he wouldn't have t1 Chalice or that he wouldn't present a fast clock and give me time to draw out of it. I think the hand is better than a 5, but it was very bad against t1 Chalice, t2 Knight.G3: This was the crucial mistake of the tournament - I kept a bad hand in a matchup I couldn't afford to. I kept 3 lands, Cabal Therapy, Ponder, Tutor, and some sort of fast mana. If I could strip his protection, I felt confident in a turn 2 win or t3 win after disrupting him some more. The problem was that if my blind Therapy whiffed I was cold to pretty much everything. I named Chalice, he had Thalia, and that was pretty much enough to stop me.

Overall, I'm disappointed by the way the pairings worked out and also by my bad keep. I've noticed that my record against U decks is very very positive, but my record against non-Tribal non-U decks is pretty bad. That's something I'll need to work on.
I am happy that I finally got a top 8, but it's left me wanting more!

Props:
- Awesome people like Jeff Sirkis, Caleb Crotts, and Adam Cai for helping me get my mind off of the top 8 by cubing.
- SCG foil signed case. My cube always looks prettier after an Open.
- Bryant for creating the deck and discussing plays.

Re: Happy Birthday to Myself: SCG ATL Top8 with TES

Congrats again.

Can't believe your Miracles opponent boarded out multiple terminus, but sometimes you get there. Probably not the best deck choice if you don't play a ton of Legacy.

Round 5, G2 - Justin's keep was Snapcaster, Therapy, Jace, Tundra, 3x fetch if I remember correctly from birding the match. He also waited to therapy until turn two which I didn't understand, and didn't use snappy to run it back right away.

Re: Happy Birthday to Myself: SCG ATL Top8 with TES

Great tournament Phaz, pretty successful day.
That Dredge match was a laugh to watch, especially when his Game 3, T1, Troll-dredge was 5 Lands an a Cabal Therapy (and then he drew the Narco for his second Looting draw). Thought for sure you had it at that point, your hand looked stacked (yet weak to cabal if his next dredge hit). 2x DRit, 2x IT, BW, or something with 2 Lands in play? Brutal.

Re: Happy Birthday to Myself: SCG ATL Top8 with TES

Originally Posted by haganbmj

Great tournament Phaz, pretty successful day.
That Dredge match was a laugh to watch, especially when his Game 3, T1, Troll-dredge was 5 Lands an a Cabal Therapy (and then he drew the Narco for his second Looting draw). Thought for sure you had it at that point, your hand looked stacked (yet weak to cabal if his next dredge hit). 2x DRit, 2x IT, BW, or something with 2 Lands in play? Brutal.

Yeah that dredge was insane. He was pretty incredulous when he dredged 5 lands in a row, then when his deck daggered him by drawing the Narc he started yelling about how unlucky he was and I burst into laughter. Debbie Downer Mr. Jarvis Yu scolded us to be quieter and I just couldn't stop laughing.

Re: Happy Birthday to Myself: SCG ATL Top8 with TES

That lucksack Sneak and Show player... Top decking with 2 lands and a Sneak Attack in play. Oops Emrakul, Oops Brainstorm into Griselbrand. What a sack. That was one of the few matches where I can say that justice was upheld in favor of the storm player lol. I love when a player sits across from me and says this is his first legacy tournament. Usually I apologize afterwards though.

Originally Posted by Richard Cheese

I've been taking shitty brews and tier 2 decks to tournaments and losing with them for years now. Welcome to the club. We meet for cocktails after round 6.

Originally Posted by Stevestamopz

Top quality german restraint there.

If I'm at the point where I'm rage quitting, you can bet your kransky that I'm calling everyone involved a cunt.

Re: Happy Birthday to Myself: SCG ATL Top8 with TES

Re: Happy Birthday to Myself: SCG ATL Top8 with TES

Originally Posted by phazonmuant

Round 1 - James Walker - Elfball
Nice guy and long-time player that had taken a break around Odyssey and just picked up Elfball for this tournament. This matchup is very positive for TES - we're 1-2 turns faster and more disruptive.G1: He won the die roll and my Probe saw a pretty awkward opener after he dropped a Nettle Sentinel featuring double Craterhoof Behemoth and Natural Order along with Crop Rotation and an elf. He conceded t2 after Wish into Past in Flames into 24 Goblins from the Empty I naturally drew. After the match, Bryant berates me that I missed a t1 IGG loop bringing back RoF, RoF, and Empty for 20 goblins.

I wouldn't call it "berating" just pointing out that you could've effectively done the same thing you had already done except a turn earlier. Also, I "berated" you after the round (just wanted to point that out, it's important to not interrupt a match).

Re: Happy Birthday to Myself: SCG ATL Top8 with TES

Originally Posted by Bryant Cook

I wouldn't call it "berating" just pointing out that you could've effectively done the same thing you had already done except a turn earlier. Also, I "berated" you after the round (just wanted to point that out, it's important to not interrupt a match).

Congrats on the finish.

Apologies, Bryant kindly pointed out a better line. I did mention it was after the match in the report I think. Very true that it's a Bad Idea to give play advice during a match.

Re: Happy Birthday to Myself: SCG ATL Top8 with TES

That game 3 against dredge: You had Land in play, 2x DR and 2x IT in your hand, second land and petal on top. Am i missing smth or would this have been possible:
Ponder: Land,Petal,BW, draw land and after he wiffed the therapy get the petal.
Your hand now is: Petal, DR,DR,IT,IT
In play: 2 lands. DR->IT(DR)->DR->DR->Petal->IT->EtW
Makes 7 mana total which could result in an EtW for 14 without needing double red, wouldn´t it?
Still not sure whether to play TES or S&T at GP Straßbourg, but your report got me thinking to just man up and try it, despite having played the deck for a long time :D

Oh, and ofcourse congrats on the finish :D

Originally Posted by Mordel

I'm not crying about it...I'm using as an example to illustrate why you should not be taken seriously.

Re: Happy Birthday to Myself: SCG ATL Top8 with TES

Originally Posted by NQN

That game 3 against dredge: You had Land in play, 2x DR and 2x IT in your hand, second land and petal on top. Am i missing smth or would this have been possible:
Ponder: Land,Petal,BW, draw land and after he wiffed the therapy get the petal.
Your hand now is: Petal, DR,DR,IT,IT
In play: 2 lands. DR->IT(DR)->DR->DR->Petal->IT->EtW
Makes 7 mana total which could result in an EtW for 14 without needing double red, wouldn´t it?
Still not sure whether to play TES or S&T at GP Straßbourg, but your report got me thinking to just man up and try it, despite having played the deck for a long time :D

Oh, and ofcourse congrats on the finish :D

You're absolutely right, that's what I should have done and probably would have won me the match. I punted by not double checking my color count. If the colors had magically worked out, BW gets an extra storm.

TES is very well positioned in America right now, but it sounds like the Frenchies and northern Euros like their storm combo a lot, so the field might actually know how to play against it. If you have a lot of experience with the deck, I think it gives you way more play and raw power than S&T, but it's commensurately harder to play.

Re: Happy Birthday to Myself: SCG ATL Top8 with TES

Originally Posted by phazonmuant

You're absolutely right, that's what I should have done and probably would have won me the match. I punted by not double checking my color count. If the colors had magically worked out, BW gets an extra storm.

TES is very well positioned in America right now, but it sounds like the Frenchies and northern Euros like their storm combo a lot, so the field might actually know how to play against it. If you have a lot of experience with the deck, I think it gives you way more play and raw power than S&T, but it's commensurately harder to play.

excellent, so at least i got that right :D Well, shit happens, you won´t do that mistake again!

As for the practice, i have played nothing else but TES for 1 1/2 years but then i had a magic break of about the same amount of time, so im still not sure :D Maybe ill go with ANT just because its more streamlined and therefor easier to play.

Originally Posted by Mordel

I'm not crying about it...I'm using as an example to illustrate why you should not be taken seriously.

Re: Happy Birthday to Myself: SCG ATL Top8 with TES

Thanks all for the birthday wishes!

Originally Posted by NQN

excellent, so at least i got that right :D Well, shit happens, you won´t do that mistake again!

As for the practice, i have played nothing else but TES for 1 1/2 years but then i had a magic break of about the same amount of time, so im still not sure :D Maybe ill go with ANT just because its more streamlined and therefor easier to play.

If you have any sort of experience with TES, I think you get more free wins from people not expecting TES to be as fast or resilient as the deck is, or just flat not playing around Empty (see the Miracles match), than you get loses from not being smart enough.
Some advice I tried to use in the tournament: after losing to a known-information kill round 1, I told myself to slow down and double check everything and for the most part stuck with that throughout the day (exception: Dredge matchup). I've noticed Bryant plays very deliberately despite knowing the deck very well, and I have difficulty believing that his success is an accident. I went close to time more than once, and I'm usually done with 10-20 minutes left playing durdly control decks.

Originally Posted by Mark Sun

Sick birthday present. Sorry I was so depressing all weekend, but it was good to meet you!

It was good to meet you too! I was just happy to see some hot foil Goblins.

Originally Posted by Koby

I too share my disappointment that Griselbrand was nowhere to be had in your deck. From the reports I've heard, people were gunning for Mr Knife-hands.

I feel your pain. I like my big black man. I just can't stand playing the same deck all the time - even drawing your deck multiple times can get old! Storm makes me feel smart again.

Originally Posted by nudon

Congrats on the finish and happy belated birthday! Now if only we could get the rogue hermit to work... haha :)

Haha, I wish we could! Sorry I haven't been very active on the thread - I saw some people playing the deck when it first came out and it just seems miserable compared to combo decks with Brainstorm. Same reason I can't play SI at a tournament (although that deck is very sweet). I just can't resist jerking it with Brainstorm and Ponder.

Re: Happy Birthday to Myself: SCG ATL Top8 with TES

It's cool, I don't think you're missing out on much as most of the significant improvements have been to the sideboard. Yeah, the deck lacks the consistency that combo decks with brainstorms and ponders enjoy. However, I personally love playing elves since you get to draw so many cards. Storm aside, what decks would you recommend that rewards correct decisions and play-skill? I've been meaning to proxy nic fit (HoneyT's list) since I love cabal therapy haha.